The Russian Academy of Business.
Academy actions

The fledgling Russian business often suffers growing pains and hard times. It is often resented by the community and has to fight its way through the obstacles often put in its path by the government authorities, especially in some regions. Reconciliation with the community and business, and the construction of a civil society is an important task and is essential for new Russia. The Russian Academy of Business considers the realization of this task as one of its principal goals and with that objective in mind it has started staging the Assemblies of the Russian Business People, which have now become an annual event. The purpose of these Russian national forums is to give businesspeople from all 89 regions of Russia a unique opportunity to meet together and discuss essential problems, to listen to each other and to hear what the other party has to say, and to join their efforts in order to find appropriate solutions. It is important, that along with the outstanding representatives of Russian business, the outstanding state and public figures, chiefs of the mass media, governors and heads of the governments of the regions of the federation participate in the sessions of the Assembly, and seek the solutions to the problems. The proof of the government's recognition and appreciation of the importance of the assemblies of business and the administrative and cultural elite of Russia is the fact that they are held in the Grand Conference Hall of the Administration of the Russian Federation President. The messages from the Chairman of the State Duma and the Council of the Russian Federation, from the heads of the regions of the Russian Federation, from the Patriarch of Moscow and Russia, Alexei Ï, and other outstanding state and public figures of Russia and foreign states are sent to greet the participants of the Assemblies.

The Assemblies evoke great interest in the Russian press and the sessions are widely covered by Russian radio and TV, and, as well, the reports of the Assemblies are published in the most influential Russian newspapers and magazines.

Such attention of a public and mass media to the Assemblies is demonstrated not only because of the high level of their participants, but also because of the importance of the problems, raised at them.

The First Assembly of Business People took place in November, 2001, in Moscow. The theme was. "The Formation of a Favorable Climate Is the Basis for Russia's Economic Prosperity". There were more than 1200 delegates, including 26 heads of the regional administrations and chairpersons of local governments, chiefs of the committees, deputies of the State Duma, high-ranking officials, directors of big business companies, delegations from 65 regions of Russia. 43 central and local mass media agencies covered the work of the Assembly. In addition to the plenary sessions, "Round Tables" were held which provided an opportunity for their participants to discuss the important issues in detail . The Round Table discussions were led by distinguished Russian politicians, economists and businesspeople, and were held at the Council of the Federation and State Duma of the Russian Federation, Moscow Patriarchy, as well as at various Moscow enterprises and higher educational institutions The Assembly adopted a number of important resolutions, that included a project of the State Program, "The Revival of the Spiritual and Moral Traditions of Russian Entrepreneurship", which was to be forwarded to the legislative and executive bodies for approval and further realization. "An Appeal to the Government Authorities" and "An Appeal to the Mass Media" proposed a favorable business climate in Russia.

The second Assembly of the Russian Business People was held between May 31 and June 1, 2002 in the Grand Conference Hall of the Administration of the President of the Russian Federation. The theme was "Women Are the Leaders of New Russia and Social and Economic Initiatives". There were more than 1300 delegates, representing different regions of Russia. It was a national women's forum, which has become an independent ground for free debate on the most vital issues of contemporary Russia. Without exaggeration, it was the female elite of Russia, and included the outstanding representatives of the government and business, the chiefs of women's movements and public organizations, deputies of the State Duma and figures of academia and society. The Assembly brings together Russian women representing all spheres of political, public and religious life of Russia. It has enabled the participants of the Assembly and the press to name the Assembly "A Women's Forum ". Besides the sessions, the work of the Assembly included 8 thematic " round tables ", during which the participants have discussed all the problems that concerned them, in detail. The Round Tables were organized at the Council of the Federation and the State Duma of the Russian Federation, Moscow Patriarchy and higher educational institutions in the Russian capital. The Assembly was followed by the award ceremony. For the first time in the history of Russia the national prize "Olympia", recognized the achievements of Russian women and it was received by well-known and outstanding Russian women. The ceremony was held in the Cathedral Hall of the Christ, the Savior Cathedral, Moscow.

In the unanimous opinion of all the participants it was decided that in the future " Russian Women's Forum" would be held annually. Between the conventions of the Assembly the work will be carried out by the Committee, elected at the Assembly, which will include the most distinguished and influential women of Russia.

Between December 2 and 4, 2002, the Grand Conference Hall of the Federal President's Administration in Moscow was the venue of the Third Assembly of the Russian Business Community, Investments in the Russian Economy: Practice and Prospects.

In addition to representatives of domestic business, speakers at the plenary sessions of the Assembly included Irina Vakhraneva, assistant Vice President and deputy head of the Moscow representative office of the Bank of New York, USA; Hans Guldenberg, managing director of Nestle Food, Switzerland; Robert Borbidge, head of the Consultative Committee of the Asia-Pacific Space Center, Australia; Irene Commeau, General Director of the European Business Club; and Richard Wright, head of the European Commission's delegation in Moscow.

The second day of the Assembly was fully taken up by sections and roundtables. The halls of the Federal President's Administration, the Federation Council and the State Duma of the Federal Assembly, federal ministries and departments, and representative offices of leading Russian and foreign financial and investment companies were turned into venues for discussions of theoretical and practical aspects of investment in small business, problems and prospects of investment-related laws, and ways to improve the investment image through reforms of the railroad system. The sessions were addressed by K. Bendukidze, General Director of the Amalgamated Engineering Plants Company, G. Fadeev, Federal Minister of Railroads, and G. Tomchin, President of the Russian Association of Privatized and Private Companies, among others.

As G. Tosunian, President of the Russian Banks Association, said, "our roundtable that addressed the lending and investment activities of Russian banks and foundations was so heated that when time came for the section to wind up its discussion, there were far more people willing to convey their views than have already spoken up. This was a straightforward dialog between industrialists and bankers. That is an area where real efforts can be put in to improve the economy."
"Significant results can be achieved in improving and promoting economic growth in Russia today by joint efforts only," said Irina Gorbulina, President of the Russian Academy of Business. "In this respect, assemblies of the Russian business community organized by our Academy provide a stimulus to activate all forces to pull in the same direction."

A memorable event in the work of the Third Assembly of the Russian Business Community, Investments in the Russian Economy: Practice and Prospects, was the award of the DARIN Grand Prix of the Russian Academy of Business to Yevgeni Primakov, a leading figure in Russian politics and economics and President of the Federal Chamber of Commerce and Industry, for his significant personal contribution to the promotion of enterprise in Russia. "It is a great honor to me to receive Russia's highest business award," said Yevgeni Primakov. The Academy's other awards presented within the Assembly's framework were the Russian Business Elite prizes and the Merited Entrepreneur badges.

The Third Assembly of the Russian Business Community ended on December 4 with the Sixth Award Ceremony for Russia's main business prize, Business Olympus-DARIN, for 2002.

The Fourth Assembly of the Russian Business Community, Women as New Russia's Leaders. Business and Society, the main official national-scale event to mark the International Women's Day, was held on March 5 and 6, 2003. The Assembly was organized by the Russian Academy of Business, the Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Development, the Russian Union of Industrialist's and Entrepreneurs (Employers), and the ASMO-press International Journalists' Association, with support from the Federal President's Administration, the Federation Council and the State Duma of the Federal Assembly, the Moscow Patriarchy of the Russian Orthodox Church, the Federal Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the Confederation of Russian Businesswomen.

The Assembly was attended by representatives of 72 member territories of the Russian Federation, including the Moscow, Leningrad, Arkhangelsk, Voronezh, Orenburg, Sverdlovsk and Tambov regions, the republics of Bashkortostan and Karelia, and the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Area.

Representatives of 48 nongovernmental women's organizations and associations from Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, deputies of the State Duma and members of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly spoke up their views on problems confronting modern society.

The Assembly's discussions focused on problems of women-run businesses and their place in society, and the role of women in forming Russian statehood, business climate, and a civilized social framework in Russia.

The Assembly delegates were addressed by V.I. Matvienkto, Vice Premier of the Federal Government; G.N. Seleznyov, Speaker of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly; V.M. Dombrovsky, Vice President of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (Employers); I.V. Gorbulina, President of the Russian Academy of Business; G.I. Karelova, First Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Development; L.I. Shvetsova, First Vice Mayor of Moscow in the Government of Moscow; A.G. Belova, Deputy Federal Minister of Railroads; heads of administrations in the member territories of the Russian Federation; representatives of Russian and international organizations and foundations; managers of major manufacturing enterprises, higher educational institutions, including V.N. Shevchenko, President of the Interregional Public Charity Foundation, the Nation's Health and Intellectuality; D.J. Medman, Chairwoman of the Board of Directors of the Women's Microfinance Network; A.G. Griaznova, Rector of the Academy of Finance under the Federal Government; I.F. Lesnevskaya, General Director of the REN-TV Television Company, PTE, V.N. Shitko, Chaiman of the Association of Fishery Farms; M.M. Kazmina, Vice President of the Russian Lawyers Union, and many other speakers.

The Russian Academy of Business considers that one of its main goals is the promotion of Russian business in the international arena, and is involved in international activities to this end.

The First Congress for the development of bi-lateral economic cooperation was organised by ASMO-press, D. E. & G. McGor International Pty Ltd and the Queensland (Australia) Government in 1998 and was a great success. A number of important contracts were signed during that conference, which are still in force and successful.

In May 2000, "ÀSMO-press" together with the Moscow State University organized the Roman Club meeting in Moscow, where the issues of development of the international economic connections and Russia's role and participation were discussed.

In December, 2000, at the invitation of the former general director of UNESCO, Federico Mayor, a delegation from " ÀSMO-press " and Academy took part in the work of the international conference on Culture of Peace, which was held in the capital of Spain Madrid, and which was followed by a reception for the participants of the forum by the king of Spain, Juan Carlos.

In October, 2001 in the Vienna Palace of Industry a meeting was organized by The Russian Academy of Business and the International Journalists Association "ÀSMO-press", together with the International Assembly of Economic, Cultural and Scientific Cooperation " Global World ", Federation of Industry of Austria and Raifaizen Central Bank of Austria. The theme was, "The Foreign Investors in the Arising Russian Market".

In December, 2001, a delegation of The Russian Academy of Business took part in the Ukrainian-Russian Economic Forum which was convened to settle the existing contradictions in the economic relations between the two countries, and it was held in Kharkov, the Ukraine.
The program of the Forum included discussions focusing on the specific investment and cooperation projects for the advancement of Russian-Ukrainian economic cooperation.
The work of the Forum included a session in which the President of Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin and the President of Ukraine, Leonid Kuchma took part. The decision was taken to hold such Forums annually. The principal results of the Forum were: signing of an inter-government document, in line with which Russia will maintain its activities at the Ukrainian NEP and the foundation of the Russian-Ukrainian academy, which was tasked with the solution of the problem of higher management staff.

The Second Australian-Russian Congress for the Development of Economic Cooperation will take place between the 26th and 30th of August 2002 in Brisbane and Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia and will be a significant event in the business life of both countries.

The goal of the Second Australian-Russian Congress for the Development of Economic Cooperation is to provide a favourable environment for forming stable business relations between Russia and Australia. Many significant Russian business people and notable political figures are expected to attend this convention.

The Congress will concentrate on cooperation in the areas of trade, construction, finance, investments, agribusiness and tourism. Participants will have an opportunity to exchange knowledge and formulate suitable procedures for cooperation.

An important means of achieving the goal of this conference will be "Face to Face" meetings between Russian and Australian businesspeople and entrepreneurs. These meetings will provide a unique opportunity for the delegates to sit together and discuss the issues of business cooperation. In addition to the general meeting, seminars, and workshops. Some Russian delegates may be keen to visit Australian enterprises.

An interesting and exciting social program has also been arranged and will be available for the pleasure of interested delegates as well.

Queensland was chosen as the venue for the Convention because it is the fastest, most dynamically growing State of Australia, and the Gold Coast is one of the most exciting resort areas of the new millennium.

The next significant event, organized by the Academy in 2002, the third Assembly of the Russian Business People "Investments in Russia's Economy: Practice and Prospects", will take the international activities of the Academy to a new and higher level. A number of foreign companies and notable international businessmen and financial figures, interested in investment projects in Russia, have been invited to attend this forum. Starting this year, the award, "Business-Olympus. DARIN", will also include notable foreigners, who have made significant contributions to the development of Russian business.

With the objective of improving the work on promotion of the achievement of the best Russian businesspeople, the Academy has come up with the idea of organizing a press-club "Prof", which will include journalists of the central and regional Russian mass media and news agencies, who specialize in covering economic subjects and are genuinely interested in the development and strengthening of national business.
The foundation of the club was a logical step in the fulfillment of the Academy's goals of combining the efforts of national business and the mass-media for the advancement of the economic growth of Russia and reclaiming its greatness and power.

up